Podcast episode 97 (in German)
Sermorelin – an approved drug that no longer is one
October 5, 2026
Sales pages carry a sentence that is true: Sermorelin was approved by the US drug regulator. This episode shows what exactly for — and why, of all things, a correctly quoted sentence does not answer the question that matters when buying.
What it is about
Sermorelin is the front section of growth hormone–releasing hormone, the first 29 amino acids of GHRH, so not the hormone itself but the command for it. Its mechanism is considered the most sensible in this substance class: instead of overriding the body’s own system, Sermorelin addresses the pituitary gland, which then releases in its own rhythm. The episode goes through the real approval history, explains why the agency formally determined years after the market withdrawal that neither safety nor efficacy was the reason, and then asks the question that lies beneath: what actually follows when growth hormone levels rise?
Key points
- Sermorelin consists of the first 29 amino acids of GHRH and acts as a signal to the pituitary gland, not as a replacement for the hormone itself.
- Under the name Geref there were 2 approvals: in 1990 as a diagnostic agent for gland function and in 1997 for treating children with growth hormone deficiency.
- In 2009 the product disappeared from the market; the agency’s formal determination that neither safety nor efficacy was the reason followed 4 years later and serves an administrative purpose.
- The best answer to the follow-up question comes from the related substance MK-677: 2 years, 65 older adults, 1.1 kilos more lean mass versus a 0.5-kilo loss under placebo.
- Over the same 2 years, strength and function remained unchanged, while fasting blood glucose rose and insulin sensitivity fell.
- Human evidence stands at 3 because the axis rates the question that matters in the sales pitch — and for healthy adults there is no approval study on it.
Where the data stop
For healthy adults, Sermorelin has not been disproven but is untested. There are no robust studies in this group: the substance is old, the approval studies concerned children with proven deficiency, and nobody has invested since. What circulates today comes from compounding pharmacies and the gray market — a product without approval also no longer has a manufacturer vouching for its quality. And the safety profile the advertising relies on applies to a specific group under medical supervision, not to self-directed use over months.
Equally open is the objection that applies to anything that stimulates growth: growth hormone and IGF-1 promote cell growth, which is not a good property where tumors already exist. There are no long-term data on Sermorelin in healthy people on this point, neither reassuring nor worrying. And the advertised natural brake — that the gland only releases what it has — is at the same time the upper limit of the possible benefit.
Listen (in German)
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Published on October 5, 2026.
The topic in the database
- The GH classic: a short GHRH fragment that stimulates the pituitary gland to produce growth hormone pulses – popular as an entry point.Sermorelin
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Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Last updated: 2026-09-19.